Snapshots
by Xielas
Summary: She thinks of him when she's alone and there's no one else to warm her. Maiko. T for safety.


These are snapshots of a couple of different, hypothetical situations that Mai and Zuko could face. Some are sappy, some are sad, some are about leaving, and some are about death. Neither of them is perfect, which, I think, makes it right. Not all of them are literary marvels. With some you have to kinda guess what kind of situation it would be. (i.e. after the finale, future, or before the finale.) This is a list taken from the 1sentence livejournal community that I am not a part of, but I think it's a neat idea. The thing is, you have lists of 50 words to pick from and then take a pairing and write one sentence about them involving that word and/or topic. Mine aren't all one sentence, obviously; I couldn't confine myself with the first try. Maybe next time. Enjoy and please review!

I do not own the 1sentence concept or Avatar. :O

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#1 Ring

It was getting late, but they didn't seem to care. Sitting in each other's company was enough; taking the dark rings under their eyes in stride.

#2 Hero

When she was young, he was her hero. Almost too perfect, it seemed. Now, scarred in more ways than one, her was much more than that.

#3 Memory

She can't quite remember what he looked like before, but she's sure she likes him better this way.

#4 Box

He had nowhere to go, he was boxed in. Stuck in the traps of life, he didn't notice the key to freedom gliding past him in the hall.

#5 Run

She's a hard person to refuse when her voice rises and she speaks hotly, clearly ticked off. He should have run; that's what his conscious screamed, but he stayed instead.

#6 Hurricane

The journey must have been a difficult one, she mused. The day after he left the wind howled and the waves crashed against the shore. He was on a ship out there. She wished she were with him.

#7 Wings

She scans the sky, observing the birds fluttering about between clouds. She prays one day her turn to fly will come. She'll take him with her.

#8 Cold

It was strange how her icy stare warmed him, how her sharp features softened, and how her bleakness made him want to live more than ever before.

#9 Red

She hates the green she's been forced to don. She likes red much better. When she sees red, she thinks of him.

#10 Drink

He doesn't usually drink, but when she shoves the jug into his arms, glaring wildly, he can't refuse. She knows he hates it, and he can't understand why she's smiling.

#11 Midnight

She wants to reach out from her perch in the rafters; she can't stand seeing him wake on the verge of screaming, drenched in cold sweat.

#12 Temptation

Sometime she thinks it would be best just to kill him. She fights the urge, shoving the notion that everything would be simpler if she did out the window.

#13 View

When she looks into the mirror, all she sees is flaws. When his eyes fall upon her, he sees beauty.

#14 Music

She's peculiarly quiet. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing; he can treasure the moments that she speaks, like music to his ears.

#15 Silk

He runs his hands through her soft, dark hair that, like silk, lolls off her shoulders like water.

#16 Cover

He covers up his feelings, just like his pain. But she knows better.

#17 Promise

She promised herself she wouldn't let him stop her from fulfilling her duty; she lied.

#18 Dream

He can't see much in the way of details when he's dreaming, but he knows that she'll always be there for him when he wakes.

#19 Candle

He can't help but think of the candles at the fountain when their lips meet; nor can he ignore the memory of his first kiss.

#20 Talent

She may not be a bender or a gymnast, but she can listen and wait; traits that her mother always said were important to a healthy marriage.

#21 Silence

He's found that she can out-do anyone when it comes to silence; she could go for days without speaking a word to him.

#22 Journey

Each of them had a story to tell; and both would sit and listen to every detail of what had happened to them in the past few years.

#23 Fire

It donned on him eventually that she "frankly didn't give a rip" if he threatened her with fire; they both knew she could send a stiletto flying into very uncomfortable places just as quickly as he could bend.

#24 Strength

Old fantasies of some brawny hero plucking her from the ailments boredom had been long discarded; it was now his weakness that made her strong.

#25 Mask

She's kept up her porcelain façade up for long enough, he decides. Tonight he would convince her to discard her mask.

#26 Ice

He remembers the last time someone touched his brow with a cool, comforting hand; but that woman was gone from his life. It was her turn to bring him peace.

#27 Fall

Up until then, he'd never seen her take an ungraceful step. When he sees her tumbling forward, he doesn't let her fall, but catches her in his arms instead.

#28 Forgotten

She'd wondered if he'd remember her, the shy girl who pined after him from afar. When his lips meet hers, she is sure that he does.

#29 Dance

She was determined to teach him to dance properly; she wouldn't have him stumbling over her when they attended the ball planned after their return home.

#30 Body

He knows that she's uncomfortable being too close to him; likewise she knows that if she gets closer, his legs would turn to jelly.

#31 Sacred

Sometimes she thinks he's afraid to touch her, as if she were some kind of doll waiting to be broken; thus she takes it upon herself to guide his hands to her waist and plant a forceful smooch on his lips.

#32 Farewells

He refuses to cry while she's still alive, but when he sees hers eyes go empty and feels her hands go cold, he weeps.

#33 World

They've experienced various things since they've traveled the globe, but nothing was quite like holding hands as they took afternoon walks away from prying eyes in Ba Sing Se.

#34 Formal

She's never grown accustomed to the rigid ways of nobles and he has shed most things royal; which is a good thing. No sense in squabbling over formality.

#35 Fever

It's been years since she had gotten ill and she hates to admit it, but she relishes each moment he sits with her, a cold cloth in hand to ease her fever.

#36 Laugh

He's not sure if she's capable of laughter yet; the closest she's gotten to it was one of those scoffs that say "that was sort-of funny, but no where near bust-your-gut hilarious."

#37 Lies

Sometimes it scares him to think that he has lied to her, because he knows that if she found out about some of the more major fibs, she would go assassin on his tail.

#38 Forever

They know it can't last forever; that it won't last forever, but they cherish the time they have.

#39 Overwhelmed

When he sits with his head tossed back, his hands massaging his temple, he's grateful for her cool touch.

#40 Whisper

He rolls over, putting his lips to her ear, speaking soft words that make her heart flutter again.

#41 Wait

After one of those dreadful arguments, both sore and angry, they wait it out. One of them will break eventually.

#42 Talk

She's been convinced that talk is cheap and is set in her ways; he must make her realize how important her words are to him.

#43 Search

He's spent a great deal of him youth searching for answers and for the people who hold those answers; what he didn't see was that that answer was left behind.

#44 Hope

She has shy tendencies and has yet to muster the zeal to approach him; all she can do is hope and pray that he feels that same way.

#45 Eclipse

On those rare days of the eclipse, he's moody and disagreeable; a choice of his that only makes her want to prove she's better at being both.

#46 Gravity

It is decidedly destiny and gravity that brought them together initially in that fountain; now he's certain that there's a stronger force, love, that binds them.

#47 Highway

On their first night out, they opted to avoid the bustle of the Ba Sing Se streets and instead took to a quaint café in the backstreets.

#48 Unknown

Each day that goes by, the future grows more and more uncertain, but no matter what, he knows she'll be there when he comes back and she knows he will return.

#49 Lock

He limbs feel like lead and the weighty sound of the lock rolling in place echoes in her mind; how can she betray him to the arms of a prison?

#50 Breathe

Mai places Zuko's head on her lap, stroking the prince's hair soothingly as he breathes her name with his final breath.

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Thank you for reading! 


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